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History

The first Russian parish established in Australia and New Zealand was St. Nicholas Church (now Cathedral), Brisbane, in 1926.

The first ROCOR bishop of Australia and New Zealand was Bp Theodore (Rafalsky), 1948-55.

Organisation

The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Within the diocese, of which the Archbishop is the head and sole bishop, there are various deans who are in charge of one or more geographic areas. There are approx. 62 parishes and communities, including 17 monasteries and sketes, across Australia,
23 parishes and communities in Indonesia, 5 parishes and communities in New Zealand, and one parish (along with one monastic skete) in South Korea.

The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was a founding member of SCCOCA, but later departed.

On July 4, 2009, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, consecrated a new church in honor of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco specifically for Orthodox Australian Aboriginals. This event is symbolic of a new era of missionary work in the Australian and New Zealand Diocese where a significant portion of its parishioners and clergy are converts to Orthodoxy of non-Russian background.